Recent archaeological excavations in the Negev desert in the southern Levant have yielded a variety of mollusk shells originating from the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River, and the Red Sea, uncovered in the trash mounds and settlements of Byzantine and Early Islamic sites. These remains indicate that aquatic products were among the merchandised comestibles transported across long distances. Three shellfish taxa manifest such transportation: (1) the small clam, Donax trunculus, commonly found in the exposed sandy wash zones of the Eastern Mediterranean coast; (2) the large freshwater mussel, Chambardia rubens, whose habitat stretches from the Nile River to western Africa; and (3) the large conch, Lambis truncata, commonly found in the shallow waters of the Red Sea. The breakage and abrasion patterns of the shell fragments of these three species suggest that they were collected as live specimens and not as empty shells washed ashore. The other taxa, however, were mostly collected as empty shells to be used, for example, as ornaments.

最近在黎凡特南部内盖夫沙漠的考古发掘工作产生了各种软体动物壳，它们发源于地中海，尼罗河和红海，被发现在拜占庭和早期伊斯兰遗址的垃圾堆和定居点中。这些残留物表明，水产品属于长途运输的商品食品。三种贝类分类体现了这种运输方式：（1）小蛤Don Donax trunculus，通常见于东地中海沿岸裸露的沙质冲洗区；（2）大型淡水贻贝Chambardia rubens，其栖息地从尼罗河一直延伸到非洲西部；（3）大型海螺Lambis truncata常见于红海浅水区。这三个物种的贝壳碎片的破损和磨损模式表明，它们是作为活体标本收集的，而不是作为冲上岸的空壳而收集的。但是，其他分类单元大多被收集为空壳，例如用作装饰品。